About the Artist: Lisa Finch
July 2022 Issue
About the Cover Artist — Lisa Finch
By Kelly Hunter
Lisa Finch comes from an artistic family. “As a young girl, I was lucky to be exposed to art through my grandfather, who was established as a Canadian landscape painter, and I spent a lot of time with him learning to draw and watching him paint,” she told us. From those early beginnings to today, Lisa has been on a real journey of discovery, often putting her creativity and artistic talent to use as a mom, painting sets and designing costumes for school plays.
Despite those early lessons and studying Fine Arts and Literature at University, Lisa “had never thought of being an artist as a career until recently, within the last 10 years. I’ve always skirted around it, dabbled in it, and even though I studied art, I never thought of myself as an artist, maybe just artistic. Looking back, I think it chose me.” Seeing the detail and imagination in her work, we’re glad she was chosen.
Our cover art this month is “Sparklers”. Lisa told us how it came to be: “I spend hours looking through photos that I collect in the hopes of one day painting and found myself captivated by Marilyn Monroe in a tulle skirt. I thought what a great challenge to paint that skirt with its soft folds and lightness. The thought of adding a little dog in her lap, surrounded by the puffiness of that tulle, would be like adding a piece of jewelry and would be the sparkle. Once the paint touched the canvas, the details began to emerge—the glitter, the sparklers, the sunglasses, and the dark sky. But I think the little Yorkie is still the sparkle!” Animals are Lisa’s favorite subjects to paint. She often rescues stray dogs, mice and baby birds, and they return the favor by inspiring her work.
Many of Lisa’s paintings depict fashionable women in vintage dresses and jewelry, but she says, “I have poor fashion sense and would much prefer a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. All of my clothes have paint on them.” There’s nothing wrong with expressing a love of fashion on canvas rather than your own wardrobe!
Lisa finds ways to express many aspects of her personality through her art. “I am not a writer or a world traveler, but I think of my work as opening a door that allows me to convey a ‘moment’ of a story, while at the same time be whisked away to a place that I dream of. If it makes me smile in the process, all the better!” Her work certainly makes us smile, with its whimsy and creativity; it was difficult to choose only one of her works! Lisa is the perfect cover artist for our #CreativeMinds issue. We hope her story and her work will inspire you to express your own creativity in whatever medium you choose.
Lisa’s fun impressionistic work can be seen and purchased at www.frenchcanvasstudio.com or on Etsy @frenchcanvasstudio. You can also follow her on Instagram @frenchcanvas and Facebook @frenchcanvasstudio.